Colliding (Book 1)

[Salvon]

This is my drawing. Please do NOT steal

1. Stories to be Told
A single road ran through a part of vast land far less traveled than any other. This land was full of large, flat plains whose tall brownish green grass housed many small creatures. Dotted throughout the land were dark forests that larger and more dangerous animals called home. One forest was much bigger than the rest and cut a thick, green line through the plains. The forest created a barrier between two different worlds that lived harmoniously and yet did not know of each other's presence. On the northern side lived the wild horses. A total of three separate herds roamed their established territories and rarely fought amongst one another. On the southern side humans dominated the plains. Farmlands covered the land south of the forest along with domesticated horse barns. The forest separating the lands was a source of fear for both humans and horses alike, and as long as the northern and southern worlds did not collide, there was peace.
Inside of the barn was cooled down by multiple fans working to fend off the summer's intense heat. Bo, a large dapple grey horse, knew that outside of the barn would be incredibly warm and refused to subject himself to the mid-summer swelter. One by one Bo watched as the other horses were removed from their stalls by the stable hands and walked out through the large wooden doors at one end of the barn. When it finally came his turn to exit he backed up until his rump clashed with the wooden stall wall. The stable hand approached the door of the stall with a lead and halter in hand. Bo recognized the halter as his own; a brown leather halter with a golden name plate on which the name "Bo" was etched in cursive. He remained against the wall and pushed harder on the wood as the stable hand slid open the stall door. She came closer and made to place the halter around Bo's head, but he avoided it.
"Oh c'mon now Bo. You have to go outside." She said annoyed. She managed to wrap her arm around Bo's head and slip the halter around his muzzle, then over his ears. The stable hand then clipped the lead to the halter and walked Bo out through the stall door, down the smooth cement barn hallway and out through the large wooden doors. Bright rays of sunlight flooded into Bo's eyes and for a moment he could not see. His single blue eye was especially effected, and he blinked furiously until he could see properly again and take in his surroundings. A pebbly, dirt path stretched a far distance from the entrance to the barn where Bo stood. Large, grass filled paddocks lined the path on either side, each with five to six horses surrounded by wooden fences while grazing. A short Jack Russell came running up the path followed by two stable hands. As Bo looked around, his ears swiveling in all directions, the woman leading him tugged on the rope attached to his halter until he walked forward. She lead Bo all the way down to the end of the path and into the last paddock, the sun was hot and high in the cloudless sky as Bo had suspected. His paddock mates stood where they always did, along the back fence line near the trees of Barrier Forest. When Bo was unclipped from the lead he immediately trotted over to the others. Bo approached a large, dark bay horse. On the horse's halter "Madras" was etched in across the name plate.
"Bo. What took yah so long? Afraid to come out in the warmth and sunlight again were yah?" Madras neighed.
"Oh come on Madras. I'm not going over it again. You know I'm still not used to this temperature." Bo said rolling his eyes. A stockier horse joined the two. He was solid black with a wavy mane and tail in matching color. Tufts of fur stuck out near his hooves, and he was just slightly shorter than Bo, but obviously older. His name plate read "Archer".
"Oh I don't know Bo my boy. You might need to tell that story one more time. There's a new foal in this paddock." the old, black horse said and moved aside revealing a young horse behind him. Bo stared at the youthful creature who was now standing in front of him. The foal was old enough to be away from his mother but still young enough to be called a foal. He was thin and lanky with long legs and a short, wiry mane and tail. His color was the most eye catching of all his features. The foal was a very bright chestnut color that shined an intense orange hue in the sunlight. His face, however, was almost entirely white with the exception of his ears, jaw and cheek.
"What's the kids name?" Bo asked without taking his eyes off of the young one who was beginning to look slightly nervous.
"His name's Thimble." Madras answered seriously though he looked as though he could have burst out in laughter. Bo then lifted his head high and cocked it to the side with a puzzled expression.
"Thimble?" Bo exclaimed sounding horrified. "That's a terrible name for a soon-to-be stallion." Bo neighed. Thimble looked down and flicked his ears back in embarrassment. Bo then continued to look at the foal now with a very different expression. He looked as though he was trying to decide or decipher something. "Kid I'm calling you Ginger. From now on no one except your dam calls you Thimble." Bo said definitely. Behind him Madras threw his head in approval of the new name.
"I like it. Suits your color that's for sure." Madras neighed. Ginger looked at the three large horses and Bo noticed a small smile creep across his muzzle.
"I like it too." Ginger whinnied, and glanced up at Bo.
₪ ₪ ₪
The bright, orange sun sunk lower towards the horizon where it slept. The hot air began to cool at the slow loss of its source. The horses' time in the paddock was coming to a close, a time obvious to all. Hoof beats thundered in every paddock as the horses ran from their grazing areas towards the paddock gates where they could be collected by the stable hands. The horses who's paddocks were closer to the barn were the first to be brought in. One by one each horse was lead up the dirt path and through the wooden barn doors. By the time Bo's paddock was finally reached, the sun had dipped halfway beneath the plains. A stable hand, male this time, clipped the lead to Bo's halter and lead him onto the path as other humans entered the paddock to collect the other horses. Bo glanced around at the other paddocks then to the Barrier Forest on his right. Something blue flashed in between the dark trees of the forest, but made no sound. Before he could see what happened to it, Bo whipped his head the other way, accidentally hitting the stable hand and earning himself a slap to the face. Bo didn't care about being hit, it was not something abnormal as he got in trouble more often than other horses and was punished accordingly. The remainder of the walk to the barn, Bo refused to look at the forest.
Once Bo entered his stall, the halter was removed from his head by the stable hand. Bo stepped over to the left side of his stall, the only wall without a barred window, and leaned up against it. His knees locked to keep him standing and he slowly fell asleep as the sun outside disappeared and the lights of the barn were turned off. The sound of shuffling hooves and the hum of the night time insects lulled Bo to sleep.
Before his mind could fully doze off into a dream, a small voice at the back of his mind whispered "Bo? Bo? You awake?" Bo opened his eyes and slowly blinked with tiredness. The voice came again, much more clear "Bo?" Bo glanced around, his eyes adjusting to the soft blue moonlight that shone through the barred stall window. He turned to face the wall opposite of the one he had been leaning on to sleep. Another barred off window was cut into that wall, and gave a direct view into the next stall. As Bo looked closer, he noticed the face of a smaller horse peering in at him, and turned away as he recognized who it was.
"What do you want Ginger?" Bo mumbled in an aggravated tone.
"I meant to ask you in the paddock...." Ginger started but his words trailed off into mumbling.
"Go on." Bo encouraged his voice still rough and low.
"Why do you have one bright blue eye?" Ginger finally asked, sounding slightly embarrassed. Bo whipped his large head around to face Ginger and stared at him grimly, his ears pinned to the sides of his head in anger.
"I was born with it." Bo said, his voice almost a growl. He did not take his eyes off of Ginger until a terrified look spread across the young foals face. Bo began to calm down and turn so that he was once more flat against the wall. A few moments of complete silence occurred between the two horses before Ginger spoke up. "Bo?...I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't know it would upset you. I just wanted to hear a story. My dam always told me stories before sleeping." he said softly. Bo looked over to Ginger, his expression more relaxed, and stepped over to the barred window so that the two horses were face to face. Ginger's light, brown, apologetic eyes looked up into Bo's. "You're ridiculous, you know that?" Bo said and sighed before continuing "Fine. What story?" he whinnied softly, as not to disturb the other horses. Bo then looked to Ginger for an answer. The foal looked as though he was trying to decide on something that could mean life or death. His expressions outlined by the glowing moonlight. Bo finally spoke up "Just choose one." he growled.
"Alright..." Ginger whispered then continued thinking.
"I'm just going to tell you the story about the spirits." Bo said in a commanding and slightly aggravated tone. Ginger did not reply and so Bo began.

WIP
I hope this is enjoyed. If you have comments, criticism, or encouragement please feel free to post here. I plan to add to this as much as possible. Thanks! Stay Fab.
-Salvon